Wednesday, June 11, 2008

No, this is not some sort of euphemism. I've used my Weber grill to smoke pork ribs plenty of times, but never a beef brisket. 9 out of 10 times at the BBQ joint I order ribs, so at home I cook ribs. But the other day while cruising the meat case at the food coop, I came across a beautifully lean slab of brisket from Slope Farms - naturally raised, grass fed, farmed by a doctor who used to live in Park Slope.Most Important Lesson Learned - lean brisket is for braising (cooking in liquid). When using a dry cooking technique like smoking, use the fatty cut, as the fat slowly bastes the meat keeping it nice and tender.

Our brisket tasted great, smoky and delish. But in a survival situation I could have used it to craft a pair of sandals, you know, if the desert sands were too hot for bare feet. Hyperbole of course, but in truth I was not able to convince the connective tissue in this, the lean end of the brisket, to melt away. And I smoked this baby for almost 4 hours. Yes, it probably needed double that, but 8 hours - it's hot out there folks! And I didn't have that much hard wood charcoal. Even if I did, I cannot imagine my wife's reaction had I told her I'd be spending 8 hours of a Saturday smoking meat. Well actually, I can imagine, and that's why I stopped at almost 4 hours.

This was my technique:

-24 hours before smoking I rubbed the brisket with coarse salt and ground black pepper.-played 2 different Sinatra and Basie records, including the classic "It Might as Well be Swing" for the brisket as it came to room temperature before smoking.-removed the top rack and cooked the brisket in a pan next to the coals.- soak plenty of mesquite in water for an hour, added it every 20 minutes or so to the coals.-I wasn't sure how to position the window of holes on the grill's top. I went with holes above the brisket. I know...who really cares. Excuse me, I'm detail oriented.

Anyway, this was rather delicious, if somewhat tough. But some home made cole slaw, a little Carolina style hot sauce (chili flakes soaked in white vinegar), some decent but plain white bread, sliced dill pickles...yup, there's a reason that no photos of this fine sandwich exist.

So what wine to serve with this beast of a smoked brisket? I was gravitating towards a sparkling wine, like the Montbourgeau Crémant du Jura that I love so well. But in the end I decided that this meal would be a great excuse to check in on a wine that I've been meaning to revisit - the 2002 St Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs, $32 on release.

2002 was supposed to be the vintage of the millennium in the Willamette Valley, but I haven't been loving the wines. This wine was positively closed the last time I tasted it almost exactly a year ago. This time it showed better, although still a bit disjointed. The nose is mature, with truffles and mushrooms. After 30 minutes alcohol intrudes on the nose, then later on ripe dark fruit emerges, always with a mushroom undertone. The palate is broad and mouthcoating, but still somewhat primary with dark cherries. Seems like the palate has not matured as much as the nose. On day 2 the palate shows better integration of the fruit and soil/mushrooms and the tannins are supple and round. A nice herbal finish leaves pleasant aromas in the mouth. This seems promising, which is good, since I still have a half case (?!) of this hiding in the cellar.

10 comments:

I smoked two briskets last weekend. Four hours does seem awfully low, but I've never smoked one in a kettle grill before. I use my Weber Smokey Mountain. How hot is the grill when they are being smoke? I keep mine at about 225. I smoked them to an internal temp of 195 and it took 8-9 hours.

You need a whole brisket (its sometimes called the deckle cut). Have your butcher order it for you, and he can trim it a bit as well. 225 is the right temp. I have smoked them for 48 hours. Its a huge cut of meat and its great for a party. Take heart: Brisket is the hardest thing to smoke well. I agree with the cotes du rhone, actually anything syrah.

If you don't have a butcher who can get one, or you need one on short notice, Costco has whol cryovaced ones... that's what I usually use. They are pre trimmed which isn't the best, but they work pretty good.

Hey Brooklynguy,Being a 4th generation Texan (now living in Brooklyn), I've got to tell ya that your brisket made just a little bit homesick. I'm a low and slow smoker, so taking anywhere from 8-24hrs to smoke some good meat is never issue.

Now I do think you should have gone the Montbourgeau route for wine. A little cool crisp bubbles and refreshing acidity to cut through some smoky fat is heaven. And I am not just saying that because work for the importer.

I am very lucky to have a little backyard which to call my own...but in full disclosure, I have yet to have the smoker shipped up from Texas. Later in the summer I will be having a little gathering called Meatfest (only meat, no side dishes allowed) and I think that you have inspired me to get the smoker here in time.